Chemistry Olympiad selection test

I planned to post this before the test but I was too busy studying for it. Now that the test is over, I will just combine the experience before the test and during that of the test itself.

To be honest I was quite desperate before the test. Somehow I feel that it's a must to get into chemistry olympiad, for the following reasons:

1. It can motivate me to learn more things. It's always good to have teacher and peers who are good in chemistry to teach you and guide you in your way to learning chem.

2. It feels impossible to get good results for the Singapore Chemistry Olympiad if you are not in the training team.

3. Most of the seniors I know who are good in chemistry are in the training team. Somehow I feel that if you are not in the training team, you are not good enough. How am I suppose to further my studies and base my career on it if I'm not good enough?

But after the test, I feel that there's still a long way for me to go.

Maybe the test is hard, maybe it isn't because I wasn't really thinking. But I realise that my foundation is still somewhat weak. There're definitely some marks lost due to not understanding the terms in the question, which is quite stupid. And I was crapping half of the time. I guess sometimes I just don't know what the question is talking about. And there are some questions I didn't finish as well due to lack of time.

Also, I didn't study smart. I was reading up on all the extra stuff in McMurry, without knowing that only A level stuff is tested (or is it) according to Dewei. In the end I didn't really study much for arene mechanism. But it was fun, gaining new knowledge as you continue to read.

Actually, after today, apart from having a mild depression from the test, I also realise that it's not that important to get into the training team. This test shows me the standard and I feel I'm not really there yet. If I happen to get in, will the accelerated learning really benefit me? After days of hardcore mugging during the holidays, I realise that knowledge, which I once thought was so inaccessible, could just be gained easily as long as you put in the effort to read it. This is like a new method of studying discovered. Back in high school, the mentality was that school test is important, which may be true since I won't get into this class if I didn't perform well enough for my school tests. I did try to read up on things but then they were compromised by homework and mugging for tests. Moreover, the good books are all in the red-spot section making borrowing them really inconvenient. Whereas in hc now, all the books are available for longer duration of borrowing. I can just borrow it whenever I want, and take my time at home to read them.

So maybe I should level up my standard by reading stuff. Although I still prefer a mentor to guide me along my learning journey, I can try to build up my foundation by extensive reading. It's just that...I still seem so far away from that standard. When can I ever catch up with the rest?